Investment and Capitalization of Firms in the USA

In the USA today, the precipitous rise of new financial mechanisms for capitalisation of firms as well as the merger and acquisition of others, especially risk equity capital through venture capitalist and investment banking, has sparked growth and helped to bring the economy out of the 1990s recession into a robust continuous growth pattern well positioned for the next century. The scenario is not new. For the venture capitalists of ''Silicon Valley'' in California, the experience is not new. They have seen the new industries arise before, like a phoenix from ashes of ruin, despair and even failure. Venture capital poured into high tech start-up companies has been an enormous source of financial support for the entrepreneurs who head new and growing companies. The mid-1990s marked the most dramatic increase yet recorded. Indicators, such as the NASDAQ document, outlined the solid and continuous growth in high tech industries. The paper discusses investment in US corporations within the context of governance and management of the company. Discussion about the various forms of finance are related to the organisation and management of the US corporation. Critical to any firm today are its ability to find innovative, new products or services. A growing literature on resource-base framework for analysis will be discussed as part of the firm's development of research for commercialisation. The results of a recent survey further shed light on the relationship between corporate financial management and allocated resources for research and development as the ''engine'' for new product development and therefore corporate market share and growth. The conclusion is that more financial mechanisms will be created and changed within US corporate systems to adjust, grow, and expand companies in the global economic arena, as the inevitable economic pattern leads to mergers, consolidations, and increasing cooperation and alliances among firms.

Parent-off spring associations in wintering brent geese: parental investment or mutual assistance?

The continued parent-offspring associations in the Eastern Canadian High Arctic light-bellied brent goose Branta bernicla hrota was examined to determine whether this is an example of continued parental investment or mutual assistance. Adults with juveniles spend more than twice as much time being vigilant and aggressive than do those without offspring. The loss of a partner, however, does not result in the remaining parent increasing parental care but does result in increased 'self-care' by the juveniles. Neither parents nor single-parent juveniles appear to pay an energetic cost relative to non-parental adults and two-parent juveniles, respectively. Differences in the feeding distribution of parents and non-parents and equivalent or better physical condition suggests that families are able to maintain access to a superior food supply over the winter. Passive 'assistance' by juveniles may assist in maintaining this position in favoured areas, and this is achieved with little overt aggression. The present study thus provides no data that show a net cost to parents by remaining with their juveniles over the winter period. Thus, mutual assistance might be a better explanation of the prolonged association rather than a period of parental investment with an overall cost.

Casting of Self-Compacting Concrete

Increased productivity and improved working environment have had high priority in the development of concrete construction over the last decade. Development of a material not needing vibration for compaction—i.e. selfcompacting concrete (SCC)—has successfully met the challenge and is now increasingly being used in routine practice. The key to the improvement of fresh concrete performance has been nanoscale tailoring of molecules for surface active admixtures, as well as improved understanding of particle packing and of the role of mineral surfaces in cementitious matrixes. Fundamental studies of rheological behaviour of cementitious particle suspensions were soon expanded to extensive innovation programmes incorporating applied research, site experiments, instrumented full scale applications supporting technology, standards and guides, information efforts as well as training programmes. The major impact of the introduction of SCC is connected to the production process. The choice and handling of constituents are modified as well as mix design, batching, mixing and transporting. The productivity is drastically improved through elimination of vibration compaction and process reorganisation. The working environment is significantly enhanced through avoidance of vibration induced damages, reduced noise and improved safety. Additionally, the technology is improving performance in terms of hardened material properties like surface quality, strength and durability.

Sexual size dimorphism and reproductive investment by female spiders: A comparative analysis

We investigate the association between female reproductive investment, absolute size, and sexual size dimorphism in spiders to test the predictions of the fecundity-advantage hypothesis. The relationships between absolute size and sexual size dimorphism and aspects of female reproductive output are examined in comparative analyses using phylogenetically independent contrasts. We provide support for the idea that allometry for sexual dimorphism is the result of variation in female size more so than male size. Regression analyses suggest selection for increased fecundity in females. We argue that fecundity selection provides the only general explanation for the evolution of sexual size dimorphism in spiders.